2 years can change everything!
by Daybreak96
Summary: AU. Jack has been out of the country for 2 yrs and now comes back to say goodbye to the military and to breach the idea of a relationship with Sam. What happens when he sees her new life. Does he take the chance with her. Sam married Pete after Season 8.
1. Retirement

**2 years can change everything!**

**AU. Jack has been out of the country for 2 yrs and now comes back to say goodbye to the military and to breach the idea of a relationship with Sam. What happens when he sees her new life. Does he take the chance he might have with her or will he be too put off.**

**Hammond stayed as Head of Home world Security and Jack took another position oversees. Sam married Pete after Season 8. ****No**** spoilers.**

**Retirement.**

This was it, the last time I would walk these halls, at least in my Dress Blues anyway. It had been two years since I had left to 'Oversee International Affairs' in RUSSIA, I mean Russia, did the President really hate me that much! The only good thing about them is they hate us too, so for the first 8 months no one tried making small talk with me.

So it had been two years since I had seen anyone, besides Daniel; he had come by almost a year ago when he had to update me on the Ori situation.

I had just told Hank the good news and was on my way to see Carter, I assumed she would be in her lab as usual. I couldn't wait to see her again, I wondered all the time how she was doing.

I had just made my way to her lab and opened the blast door to see the rather familiar sight of Colonel Carter hunched over her work bench prodding at some new doohickey.

I cleared my throat and her head spun round quickly to look at me. She was about to salute, but I quickly waved her off and took a step forward for an awkward hug.

"It's great to see you again, Sir." She said giving me her mega-watt smile.

"You too Carter, and you can drop the 'sir' starting tomorrow, I am officially retired!" I said quickly perching myself on top of her desk. She smiled up at me again, but suddenly started looking around the corners of her room.

If she was trying to avoid me she wasn't being subtle about it.

"Sir, did you happen to see …" she started, peering behind a file cabinet.

"Boo!" shouted a voice as something grabbed hold of my leg from under the table. I quickly jumped off and backed away.

"Simon." Carter said in a strict voice.

Then a little boy with blonde hair and some sort of African facemask on came out from under the desk. He looked about 3 or 4 and he slowly pulled the mask off his head.

"Where did you get that?" Carter asked leaning down to his height.

"Daniel gave it to me." He said trying to look all sweet and innocent.

"Did he give it to you, or did you take it?" Carter asked seriously, I just watched in confusion.

"I took it." He mumbled shyly. "But it was in his bin, when I asked he said he didn't want it anymore, I thought he wouldn't mind." He said nervously fiddle with the white and red mask.

"Okay, you can keep it for now, but when we next see Daniel, you have to tell him you took it and offer to give it back, okay." Carter told him softly.

When he shook his head strongly and gave her a big smile she reached in a gave him a hug.

"That's my boy." She mumbled kissing his head as he quickly pulled the mask back on.

"Simon, this is an old friend of mine, Jack. Sir, this is my son, Simon." As she said that she didn't really look at me and I was glad because I felt my heart explode. Last I'd heard from Daniel, Sam and Pete were still married, but he never mentioned any kids!

When the young boy reached up to shake my hand I leaned down and shock his tiny fingers almost getting squished in my hand.

"So, how old are you?" I asked, in a slightly babyish voice.

The little boy held up 3 fingers, "But, mommy says I'm gonna be 4 next month."

"Going to." Sam quickly corrected his English.

It didn't take a genius for me to figure out that this obviously wasn't Sam's biological son, I was still Colonel 4 years ago!

"So, how did that happen?" I tried to breach the subject softly.

"Oh," Carter mumbled remembering how she had never told him, and had asked Daniel not to tell him as they regularly called each other. She had been hurt when jack never called or wrote to her, but she knew why, Pete. She had wanted to write to him a year ago and explain everything that had happened, but after she wrote: _'Dear Jack,'_ she screwed up the paper and never breached the subject again. It was just too hard knowing he was still in a different continent. And what if he had moved on, that would be more than a little embarrassing, but he was still her friend and didn't he deserve to know.

"Well, for starters I got a divorce, about a year ago." She said stroking Simon's fine hairs.

"Oh?" Jack asked softly

"I got some bad news, we had been trying to get pregnant for ages and after awhile I just went to the doctors, as it turns out, I'm infertile. The Doc thinks it had something to do with my blending with Jolinar. So I decided I wanted to adopt, I always wanted to be a mother, and they would need a parent and a home…" carter tried to explain as quickly as she could Simon looking up at her his brown eyes peering through the small holes in the mask.

"So why the divorce, wouldn't Paul want to adopt too." Jack tried to get the full story without being harsh but it was awkward. This had happened over a year ago and she had never thought of telling him.

"He decided the doctors were wrong, and after awhile he was blaming everything on my job. Whenever I brought up the idea of adoption he kept shouting at me, saying we only deserved to have our own kid, and that, well basically he said, that we were too good for some kid that nobody wanted. After awhile it all just became too much, he never even tried to sympathise with how I felt about any of it, I just packed my stuff one weekend he was out of town and left the divorce papers in the kitchen." She said reliving the great feeling of leaving him once and for all, and even just the feeling of opening _her_ front door again, and sleeping in _her_ bed, completely _alone_.

"Good for you, Carter." Jack cheered gently punching her shoulder. He accidently feel into step with saying Carter like nothing had changed. He couldn't wait to say Sam, just 10 more hours!

Sam turned around and grabbed a few files and turned back to Jack.

"Have you seen Daniel yet, sir." She asked quickly turning to leave.

"No, lets go see the Space Monkey. Is this Vala really that bad?" he asked comically as she swiped her card for the door.

"Simon, we're going to see Daniel and Nicky, you coming monster?" Sam asked turning to her daydreaming son.

"Sure." He said excited jumping of his chair and leaving the mask on the table.

"Uh-hum nice try, young man, remember what we said." Sam said pushing him back towards the table.

"Oh." He sighed going back and grabbing the mask. "D'you think he'll be mad at me?" he asked looking up at Jack with puppy dog eyes.

"Do you." Sam corrected his grammar again.

"Well, Danny boy never could resist a decent pout." He whispered winking at the little boy who winked back.

"So who's Nicky?" Jack asked Sam as they all got into the elevator car.

"My bwother." Simon said his voiced muffled by the mask he was wearing again.

Jack just quirked an eyebrow at Sam. "Yeah, he's Simon's non-identical twin. He prefers spending his time listening to Daniel go on and on about his work, the funny part is, he can actually talk faster." Sam said laughing at the thought.

The doors opened and they automatically started walking to Daniel's. They saw his familiar frame making it's way to his lab just in front of them in the corridor.

"Daniel." Sam called out. Daniel quickly stopped and turned around shocked to see Jack there. They gave each other an awkward shake/hug and he looked around for Simon who was hiding behind Jack's legs.

"Boo." He shouted jumping out in front of him. Daniel made a show of being scared and then gave him a gentle flick on the shoulder.

"Where have I seen that before?" Daniel asked trying to cover up that he saw Simon quickly steal it from his trashcan.

"Oh yeah, hah, I kinda borrowed it, from your bin." Simon said fiddling with it, refusing to make eye contact.

"You know if you asked I woulda given it to ya." Daniel said in a soft voice.

"Do you mind? Can I keep it?" Simon said in a hurry, giving Daniel the promised pout.

"Uh, okay." Daniel said scruffing up his hair.

He started walking again to his office opening the door quickly. Jack looked around to see the only real difference he could see was the three year-old boy, with brown hair, on his knees flicking through one of Daniels books.

"Hey there monster!" Sam said going over and kissing his head. "You haven't been bugging Daniel have you?" she asked teasily as he stretched his back.

"Nah." He said yawning slightly. Daniel looked at the book Nicky had been reading and quirked his eyebrow.

"So brushing up on your Italien, huh." Daniel asked him, trying to catch him out.

"Sì realmente." Nicky said with the perfect accent.

"La vostra grammatica è poco fuori." Daniel mumbled annoyed Nicky had thought to learn those words.

"Eh?" Simon asked, pulling a 'what the hell' look.

"I said 'Your grammar is a little off.'" He explained passing the book back to him.

"Well, I am learning from a book, and I'm four." He said in a matter-of-fact voice.

"Hey there smarty pants, come and meet a friend of mine." Sam said pulling him over to Jack.

As Jack saw the two boys next to each other he could clearly see the differences.

Simon had blonde hair, Nicky had brown, Simon had brown eyes, Nicky had greenish-grey eyes. Nicky was a bit taller than Simon by an inch or two, was definitely the cheeky one of the two.

"Hey Nicky, I'm Jack." He shock his hand.

"Pleasure to meet you." He said before whispering something to Simon. They giggled together and ran off through the door as it started closing.

"What I do?" jack asked scrunching his eyes together.

"Nothing they probably went to see Vala. Daniel here are the files you wanted." Sam said before dumping the files in the only empty spot on his desk.

"Oh thanks, see ya." He said engrossing himself in some old vase. They turned to leave quickly, Sam directing Jack towards Vala's quarters.

"So, you never answered my question before, Daniel's told me a lot about how annoying she is?" Jack asked again now.

"Nah, she's not too bad, gets us in trouble once and again and she does kinda use Sex as a weapon, but she's just had a bad past, she has really grown up since the whole Ori, Adria thing." Sam explained as they started hearing squealing. As they enter the room they saw Vala tickling both boys with vengeance.

"Double team her." Simon shouted as he got free.

"Wow now boys, you're gonna wake Crystal." Sam said going over to crib and pulling out a blonde girl in a pink dress, she looked just older than 1. She went over to Jack gently bouncing the little girl on her hip, "Jack, this is Crystal, my daughter." She said making an amazed face as the little girl opened her eyes, blue orbs staring straight at Jack.

"She has your eyes" he whispered unconsciously reaching forward to stroke her chubby cheek.

"She's 15 months now, aren't you beautiful." Sam cooed at the little girl as she started reaching up for a strand of Sam's, slightly longer then usual, hair. "Do you want to hold her Sir?" Sam offered her to him.

"It's Jack, Sam." He couldn't help but to feel hope as she blushed when he said that. Her heart fluttered as he got even closer to her to smoothly take Crystal from her and rested her on his hip, he bounced her gently up and down as she reached up to pull on the collar of his Dress blues. He smiled broadly down and the little girl and she giggled as he blew a raspberry at her.

After a bit she started reaching out to Sam, who quickly took her from Jack as she had already heated pulled out a little jar of mushed up Apple, her favourite, she placed her in her highchair, tied on her bib and started feeding her little angel.

"So Nicky, cómo está su Español?" Jack asked trying to see if Nicky was as good at languages as Danny boy was.

"Bastante bueno, ésa era la primera lengua I aprendido. Incluso Daniel admitió que el francés era complicado." He said fluently. Jack was quite impressed and he saw Simon pull out a bean bag ball from a little box in the corner and threw it towards him when he saw he was looking.

"Hey, you guys wanna go to the game room, I can teach you some Baseball." Jack asked thinking of the days him and Charlie would play.

"Cool." They both said simultaneously.

"Sam?" he asked her turning around.

She was engrossed in feeding Crystal and then she gave her a kiss and gently laid her back in her bed and turned towards them. "I guess, you'll take care of them right, I mean they look sweet and innocent now." She said teasing them as she swooped down to pick Simon up who automatically started giggling.

"Sure" she said then putting him down. "If you need me, or anything happens, I'll be in my lab." She said following them out the door.

"Yeah, don't worry I can handle them." He said before they each grabbed a hold of his arms and pulled him down the corridor.

**Hope you like it, kinda a fluffy fic. No real twists planned yet.**

**Don't worry Pete isn't in this AT ALL!**

**Absolutamente bueno, ése era una de las primeras idiomas I aprendido. Daniel incluso admitió que el francés era complicado. = SPANISH FOR = Quite good, that was one of the first languages I learned. Daniel even admitted that the French was complicated. - I'm not sure about the grammar, i don't actually speak Spanish  
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	2. Matchmakers

**2 years can change everything!**

**AU. Sam married Pete after Season 8. ****No**** spoilers.**

**Sorry it's been so long.**

_**Translations, from previous chapter:**_

"_... How is your Spanish?" _

"_Quite good, that one was the first language I learned. Uncle Daniel even admitted that French was complicated."_

"… _Cómo está su español?"_

"_Absolutamente bueno, aquél era la primera lengua I aprendido. Tío Daniel incluso admitió que el francés era complicado."_

**Matchmakers.**

**Jack's POV**

"So, you both got your mitts on, nice and tight." I explained checking them. "Okay, now all you have to do is catch it like normal, then throw it back." He said gesturing for Nicky to throw the baseball at him.

He caught it easily and gently threw it to Simon, who only just missed it; he'd got it in the glove and then dropped it.

"So," Nicky started pausing to catch the ball again. "You and Mom are old friends?" he asked throwing the ball at Jack again.

"Yeah, we use to work together, like her and Daniel, except I was her boss." He explained uncomfortably.

"Like Cam was?" Simon asked after catching it properly this time.

"No, Mitchell and your mom were of the same rank before she got promoted, he was just the leader of the team." He tried to explain.

They looked confused but Nicky just shrugged it off "But you were friends?"

"Yeah." I drawled out.

"So, why haven't we met you before, I mean in the last year?" he asked again.

"I was out of the country for a while." I explained feeling bad.

"Do you like our mommy?" Simon asked this time, completely innocent.

I took a second to think of a way of putting it before I said anything. "Yeah, she's a girl friend, smart, funny, beautiful." It slipped out without me knowing as I caught the ball.

The two of them shared equally shocked and gleeful faces as they did a double take.

"So you wanna kiss her and stuff?" Nicky asked completely seriously.

"Wow, no!" I half shouted considering a Captain I hadn't met before turned around to stare at us. But I felt bad about it when I saw their dejected looks. "Look, it's more complicated than that," I tried to explain getting them both in front of me "I do like her, but we weren't allowed to be together before, because of rules, and now she has you guys, and I'm pretty sure she doesn't like me in that way." I concluded standing back up to continue the game.

"Sure she does" Simon blurted out smiling a 'Carter-smile'

"She has a picture of you on her desk." Nicky said quickly trying to tell his brother something

"And I found this folder when I hacked into her computer called 'Fishing' with these photos of your old team and a couple of just you two, and then there was a letter to you and Auntie Cassie." He blurted out quickly, Nicky slapped his hand to his head as I crept up on Simon.

"Simon, how did you come by these files again?" I asked sinisterly trying to shake off that feeling of hope.

"Um, they were open on her laptop and I just peered over her shoulder and saw them." He tried innocently trying to pull the puppy dog eyes on me.

"Don't even try it mister, I'm telling your mom." I said standing up.

"No! Please don't she'll kill me, that'll be my last strike of the month, and it was months ago!" he started talking really really fast as he pulled on my trouser leg clinging to me.

"I'll see." I finally conceded glad Simon got off my leg and backed away shyly. "What did you mean 'my last strike this month'?"

"Huh, well, I kinda have a tendency to play with, break, or steal things I'm not allowed to. So mom made up a 3 strikes a month system. I've already had two this month and we're only in the second week." He said the last part proudly sticking out his chest.

"I'm pretty sure there is nothing around that you are _'allowed'_ to steal." I said scuffing up his hair.

"So … baseball?" Nicky tried to subtly get out of the awkward situation. I just laughed at him.

"What's your favourite team?" he continued cheekily grinning.

"The Cubs, and it's a 'who'." He said, thinking back to Charlie's love of the game again.

"The Cubs, where are they from?" Nicky asked completely clueless.

"You know, The Chicago Cubs, the windy city … They're the best team in the league … What has your mom been teaching you guys? Who do you like?" I asked in disbelief, at their blank stares.

"No one, we don't watch much sports." Nicky said innocently.

"We are three." Simon justified.

"Yeah, remind me, I'll ask your mom if I can take you boys to a game." He said and their smiles lit up their faces at the prospect. "How about Hockey, see any of that?" I asked cautiously.

They both shook their heads before Simon said "Mom, says she'll let us learn how to skate when we're older though." I would have to take them to a Minnesota Wild game sometime as well; Havlat was really on true form this season!

**~SG1~**

"Ahhhh!" Sam heard shouting coming towards her door as she opened it. She saw what could only be known as an O'Neill moment. Jack had Simon thrown over one shoulder and was trying to chase Nicky down the corridor.

"Mom, save me!" Nicky shouted as he hid behind her. As she giggled at Jack, he ungracefully put Simon back down, who quickly scrambled into her lab with Nicky.

"Hey, they weren't too much trouble, were they?" she asked looking up into familiar brown eyes.

"Nah, they're good kids Carter, you're lucky, and so are they. They just won themselves the worlds' coolest mom!" he said sweetly smiling at her, and he was rewarded with her usual mega-watt smile.

Just as she was about to say something they heard a loud shattering noise coming from inside her lab.

"That's Strike 3, Simon!" she shouted through the blast door.

Jack couldn't help but chuckle, he really was a nuisance. "Good, but a little clumsy maybe. Although I heard Simon's a bit of a computer whiz!" he added quickly.

Sam narrowed her eyes at him as he tried to calm down his features. She huffed before asking the question, "What did he hack into now?"

He laughed and quickly skirted around her to open the door with his key-card.

"Jack." She said frustrated.

"Nicky what other languages are you learning, brain box?" he asked him quickly.

"I know basic Spanish and now Uncle Daniel is teaching me Portuguese, which is kind of similar." He said proudly.

"Uncle Daniel, huh? What about the Italian?" I asked.

"Oh, I was just looking at the pictures in that book." He said chuckling

"Um, they make great pizza." Simon mumbled take a greedy bite of Sam's Pizza Hut order.

"Hey, that's a family large." Sam said seeing that he had grabbed 4 slices onto his plate. She went over and put 2 on another plate and gave 1 to Nicky, sucking the sauce off her thumb. "_When_ you're finished, you can have more if you want some, and sit down over the table" she said as she saw Simon try and sneak off.

She went towards her desk when she saw what had broken, it was a big picture frame, it held a picture she was sent of the last time Sam had gone to Mark's house for Christmas. She gently pulled the image out of the frame and put it on her desk, before throwing the broken frame in the bin. She turned around looking for a dustpan and brush when she saw Jack had grabbed it; he silently crouched down and quickly swept all the shards of glass away.

He threw them in the bin just as the doors opened and Daniel and Vala with Crystal came in. As soon as she saw her mother Crystal was bending and twisting to get to Sam, who in returned smiled excitedly at her.

Vala gently put the girl on her feet, who easily balanced herself and then ran to her mother, who instantly swooped her up and tickled her tummy to make her giggle.

"Such a big girl." Sam cooed giving her a kiss on the head. She took her seat and manoeuvred Crystal on her lap. Sam took a big bite of her pizza and made a show of it to Crystal, who automatically reached for her own slice. Carter automatically ripped off a piece and after blowing on it put it into her daughters awaiting mouth.

They were all hanging out as usual just eating pizza, after ten minutes or so Mitchell came in as well.

"It's good to see you General." He saluted. Jack quickly waved him off, before looking at his watch.

"It's 2100 hours, I'm _officially_ retired!" he said, as they all laughed and started joking around.

Nicky and Simon had finished awhile ago and were wandering around as the adults had fun in Sam's lab.

"Mom," Simon asked tugging on her sleeve.

"What sweetie?" she asked wiping an errand strand of hair out of his eyes.

"How come Cam isn't in this?" he asked holding a picture frame up to at her. Jack looked over her shoulder at the picture, it was an old shot Daniel took off-world once; it was a shot of Sam, Daniel, Teal'c, Bra'tac and himself in their usual gear.

"It's one of my old ones sweetie." She said a small smile on her face, before gently placing the picture frame back next to her computer screen.

**~ SG1 ~**

"Jack?" Simon asked after stretching on the work bench next to them.

It was the morning after our little get together and after sleeping in the Higher Class guest quarters, Jack had come down to help me with the kids, Nicky was engrossed in a book Jack had brought with him, 'Astronomy for Dummies' and had let him flick through it. He looked extremely comfortable in my lab, surrounded by the boys and myself, completely at ease.

"Yes, Simon." Jack's voice teasing, as I smiled at the two of them, interacting with each other.

"Where do babies come from?" he asked out of nowhere, looking completely seriously. I chuckled a little at Jack's dazed face.

"Why Simon?" I asked in between giggles.

"This morning, Auntie Vala said we couldn't poke her anymore, because there was a baby in her stomach." Simon explained pointing to his flat belly to emphasise his words.

"What!" I exclaimed jumping off my chair, "She's pregnant ... but that must mean … Daniel?"

"That dog!" Jack smirked to himself.

"So …?" Simon drawled looking at us quizzically.

"Umm … yeah, babies come from bellies." Jack said shrugging.

"But I thought the stalk dropped them off, that's what we were told at the agency, when Crystal came." he said nonchalantly.

"Simon," Nicky scowled him over the hard-book "they _lied_." He said his eyes getting huge before going back to his book.

"Yeah, what he said," Jack mumbled turning back to Simon, "they come from mommies' bellies, after almost a year." He tried to put it simply.

"After what?" he asked again.

Jack looked dazed all over again trying to answer that one.

"Simon, you remember what I told you when you asked why I adopted you?" I asked him carefully.

"Uh huh, you said you wanted to be a mommy and weren't in love with anyone so went to the agency." He said, still looking at me with the cute 'I-don't-get-it' look.

"Well, when two people are in love they can have their own baby, they get to make their own special one." I explained.

"How?" he asked excited with this new information.

Jack smirked at me this time before I continued, "Well, when two people are in love and decide they want a baby, they make a wish, and if God decides they are going to be good parents, he'll put a baby in the mother's stomach, and as the first test to see if they'll be good parents, the mother has to keep the baby in her stomach for nine months, and she has to take care of it. Then after the nine months the baby will be born, just like Crystal." I explained, noticing Nicky was listening intently too, I didn't like lying to them but at this age, on this topic, it was definitely necessary.

"You have an answer to everything don't ya?" Jack whispered and I grimaced at him.

"But Crystal was born and our old mommy wasn't very good, why would God give sis to her?" Nicky asked looking rather glum now.

"Well, I don't really know now do I, but if I was to guess, I would say that God gave Crystal to you two, you definitely deserve her." I said kissing Simon on the head where he sat opposite me.

**Okay, that last bit was kind of an intro to the next chapter:**

**It'll be a flashback to a year ago and the story on Nicky, Simon and Crystal's mother and how Sam met them.**

**It'll be a while till the next update though, not very organised and I got a job in a few weeks!**

**Please review it means a lot to me.**

**PS I learn about Hockey through RDA and Stat scores online.**


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